The following is a transcription of the spoken word.
Living in the United States, Mexico, and Colombia, I’ve seen my fair share of stuff. I’ve been outside society’s box most of my life, first as a Deadhead (yup, followed ’em around, no fixed address), then remote working in 1997 (way before it was cool), and I even had my digital nomad phase during the pandemic. All this while being self-employed for over 25 years. I’ve only ever had one ‘regular’ job, which was in the Army, and then a brief stint of just eighteen months in a New Jersey factory stint by age 22. After that, no asking for days off or having any boss. It’s nice, you shouldn’t try it.
During my wild ride, I picked up a thing or two from Shamanic teachers globally, particularly during a lengthy struggle with liver cancer and a transplant that took most of my 40s. I never trusted the government, and why should I? I was a part of the dot-com movement, pushing against traditional media. The slogan of my website UGASports.com was “The Newspapers read us, we don’t read them.” Then, over the years the system became the internet, and here we are.
I’m no stranger to feeling like an outsider, so I get why some folks gravitate toward conspiracy theories. It’s like comfort food for the mind, right? Secret societies like the Illuminati and Knights Templar offer some folks simple explanations for a complex world. And in these uncertain times, who can blame them for craving some certainty?
Psychology tells us that these theories can give people a sense of control but also leave them feeling helpless or marginalized. It’s a bit of a double-edged sword. Kind of like reading the comments section on any social media post.
The “conspiracy theorists,” a term I tend not to like as I see it as demeaning, could fall under something in the DSM-5. Monothematic delusions, anyone? Now, I’m not diagnosing, I’m just observing, and I am in no way saying all as there is a lot of evidence that supports what they, and I on some issues, say. But is squashing their theories not also suppressing free speech? We’re in a pickle, that’s for sure.
But this is not a united group by any means. Sure, there are the diehard full-blown Qanon believers, but that seems to have died down to some degree over the last year. Aside from them, are many sub-topics that I will not go into here, but to take one, for example, I will use the Covid Pandemic and prior knowledge. It has been well established that a lot of miss information was purposefully given out by governments, the pharmaceutical and medical community, and many so-called experts.
The story we tell of 2019 (or earlier), to say the end of 2021, will read much differently in the coming years than it is today, or that you could even speculate about via questioning through that era in almost all public forums. What do you expect in a vat of misinformation on all sides while people are also seeing their individual freedoms restricted, even their speech? More trust?
Let’s not forget the past had some unifying leaders like Ronald Reagan during the Cold War or Roosevelt during WWII. It’s been a while, but we can hope for another one. Why not, right?
So, as we navigate these wild times with our pockets full of fears and heads filled with questions, let’s try to remember the good stuff too. We’ve got a chance here to learn, to understand, and maybe, just maybe, find some common ground. But, you know, no pressure. It’s only the future of society we’re talking about. No biggie.
#ConspiracyTheories #SecretSocieties #LivingOnTheEdge #Psychology #FreeSpeech #Society #grateful dead